F R I E N D S
by Lyrice
Summary: What makes a true friend? Three crimes and a constant factor of Kakashi. Rated T for minor depictions of violence.


F R I E N D S

_a friend will bail you out of jail_

Sasuke Uchiha remembers the first time he had ever went to jail.

It wasn't jail, really, just a small room in the back of a clothing store. A police officer and a store employee stood in front of him in what they thought was an intimidating manner.

"Don't lie," the cop said. "We have you coming out of the restroom with a shirt on that you picked up out of the racks, on camera."

Sasuke sighed. He was, in fact, wearing a shirt that he had not paid for. However, he hadn't stolen it- he was intending to buy it. His other shirt was sweaty from training all day and he didn't want to walk home in it. So, he was going to buy a new shirt. Sadly, the officer and the cameraman didn't believe him.

"I'm not," Sasuke gritted out. "I want to buy this shirt. I did not intend to steal it. I just wanted to change as soon as possible. I still have the tag so that the cashier could ring it up."

The cop shook his head and muttered about teenagers and how they always thought that they knew everything. A polite knock sounded from the other side of the door.

The employee walked over to the door and opened it quickly. He seemed surprised for a moment, but stepped aside to let the person in.

It was Kakashi.

Sasuke felt his cheeks redden at the sight of his teacher, but beat down the blush by telling himself that he was truly innocent.

Kakashi spoke with the employee and the officer, and then motioned for Sasuke to follow him. Dropping the tag onto the shirt that they had made him remove earlier, the Uchiha trailed after his sensei.

"You know," Kakashi started, scanning Sasuke with his one visible eye. The boy's bangs covered his eyes as a result of holding his head down. "If you need clothes, you could have just asked."

Sasuke tightened his fists. "I wasn't going to steal it!" He whispered harshly, not wanting to attract any attention. "I was going to pay, I just wanted to get changed. Can't you tell I'm filthy from today's lessons?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Okay, okay, sorry. I believe you."

Sasuke glanced up at his teacher briefly in surprise. "You- you do?"

The jonin nodded.

_a good friend will sit in jail with you_

The second time Sasuke went to jail was sort of similar. Except, this time, he had actually been charged with a crime that he **had **committed and was now sitting in a real holding tank.

So, it wasn't that similar... Unless you counted the fact that Kakashi was with him.

The raven and the scarecrow sat slumped over on the bench they occupied in the tank. There were other men here, too, some of which were eying them carefully. Sasuke knew a pickpocket when he saw one, and inched closer to his teacher.

Its not like he had anything on him (the guards had removed all of their possessions), but the action comforted Sasuke somewhat. Kakashi grinned with his eye. "That was a mistake, ne, Sasuke?"

Sasuke grunted and left it at that. As far as he was concerned, those guys at the bar had gotten what they deserved.

"Well, a mistake for me, at least," Kakashi continued. "I should have known better than to take you to a bar."

The thirteen-year-old snorted in agreement.

"I just didn't know what else to do for your birthday."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You knew it was my birthday and you still did this!"

Kakashi cocked his head and nodded. "Yeah?"

Sasuke puffed his cheeks up and blew air out steadily, all while shaking his head. "You're an even bigger idiot than Naruto!" He accused.

Kakashi gasped and turned on his student. "Now wait just a second! I was only trying to do something nice for you. Excuse me for thinking that you would be mature enough to go to a decent bar without beating some helpless civilian for what you think you heard him say in his drunkenness!"

Sasuke seethed. "You know as well as I do that he said Uchiha!"

Kakashi sighed and turned to face the opposite direction of his student. "Well, I'll certainly never take you anywhere for your birthday again."

Sometimes Sasuke wonders if Kakashi would have said that had he known what would happen.

_a true friend will say, "Let's do that again!"_

The third, and final time, Sasuke had been to jail was in the following weeks of Itachi's death and his hell-bent return to Konoha.

The Uchiha had discovered the truth of his clan's massacre and was determined to kill everyone in the village. It had taken Tsunade, Naruto, Sakura, and loads of jonin to stop him.

Kakashi, Sasuke had noted, was strangely absent.

The chakra-draining chains that held him suspended from the ceiling dug into the skin of his wrists painfully. Sasuke blinked up, wishing that the chains would break.

He didn't know how long he had been there, but he did know that he was starving, dehydrated, and filthy. Some time ago he had given up on the battle to not relieve himself. The Uchiha could only wonder at the sight (and smell) he must have made.

Suddenly Sasuke could hear the clicking of the locks on his cell. Three ANBU strode in purposefully. Sasuke knew what they were here for.

The raven-haired boy tried to prepare himself for what he knew was to come, what he had already experienced, but he knew it was pointless. The ANBU standing directly in front of Sasuke turned his face up, so that Sasuke could just barely make out his mask.

There was hardly any light in the room, most of it coming from the hallway outside his cell, but still Sasuke would recognize that mask. It was old, but Sasuke had seen it before. It belonged to someone that he had held dear at one point, someone that...

But the Uchiha couldn't finish the thought because all of a sudden his body was on fire. Literally.

It seemed that the ANBU had decided to use real tactics now, instead of just genjutsu. The flames licked up Sasuke's legs and the tattered remains of his clothing. He thought he heard himself screaming.

A bucket of ice cold water was thrown over him. The sharply contrasting temperatures threw his body into shock. Deciding that the painful convulsions were a good enough reaction, the ANBU left as quickly and quietly as they had come.

On some level, Sasuke regretted the decisions he had made in life. If he had not been so obsessed with revenge (on Itachi, on the village) he would not be in his current predicament.

Instead, perhaps, he would be training right now with Naruto and Sakura and... and Kakashi. Or was it night right now? Well, in that case, he would be at Naruto's apartment. The blond didn't like being alone, and Sasuke imagined that if he had stayed in Konoha he and Naruto would have been great friends, and maybe they would have spent the night at each others' home every so often.

Or, in a more likely scenario, he would be with Kakashi, the one person that had truly cared for him before he had defected. Sasuke could see his old teacher suggesting that they move in together. "Really, Sasuke. It would make sense. You need a home... I need someone to cook..."

Sasuke fought the urge to snort. That would have been so like his sensei. "So," Imaginary-Sasuke would have responded, "Why don't you ask Naruto? He needs a home."

Kakashi would have gasped in horror. "Naruto! What, and eat ramen for the rest of my life?"

Imaginary-Sasuke would have grinned, and then maybe he would have shrugged. "Okay," He might have said. Or, "Hn."

Real-Sasuke tried to say it now. "Hn."

Even such a small sound caused his painfully dry throat more pain. The raven welcomed it, however. The pain that told him he was still alive.

Kakashi would have smiled at him under that mask, thinking of how Sasuke would soon see him without it. "Well," He would have said, "Let's go!"

Real-Sasuke struggled to follow the apparition. Vaguely, he noticed his limbs grow heavier. Kakashi stopped at the door to the cell and turned to face Sasuke once more. The older ninja's hair shone in the darkness. "Aren't you coming?"

Sasuke nodded his head frantically. "Hn, hn!"

The colors were fading. Silver, gray...

Kakashi smiled. "Well, hurry up. If you're lucky, I'll take you back to that bar. But no more brawls, okay?"

...Black.

A/N: I've had this account for a long time, but I had originally only planned to use it for reviews (which I admit I didn't). This is the first story I've posted on here, but not the first one I've ever posted. I wrote it a long time ago, but I would still enjoy some good feedback. Anyways, thanks for reading!


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